The fight for the Maillot Jaune at the 2024 Tour de France is likely to take another turn on stage 7 as the riders take on their first individual time-trial of the Grand Tour.
Time-trial world champion Remco Evenepoel starts the day 2nd in the general classification, just 45 seconds behind race leader Tadej Pogacar. Whilst it might seem unlikely such a deficit could be completely overturned, it's not out of the question. As such, Pogacar and the rest of UAE Team Emirates are wary of the Soudal - Quick-Step leader.
"I think the favourite is Remco Evenepoel for the time-trial. He's a rider with the condition for thus course,'' previews UAE Team Emirates sports director, Joxean Matxin, in conversation with Cycling Weekly. "Tadej will be fighting for the best result. He has worked and worked and worked on his time trialling, he’s got the condition, he’s got a comfortable position, but I don’t know how he’ll go in comparison to the favourites. I trust in Tadej but how he’ll fare against the rest, I don’t know."
Pogacar has had mixed fortunes in Tour de France time trials over the years. From taking the Maillot Jaune in stunning circumstances in his debut year, to last year seeing Jones Vingegaard destroy him against the clock as the Dane powered towards the overall victory for the second straight year.
"I think Remco looks good, motivated, I think to be with the top two on the Galibier will motivate him for a time trial, terrain he is more suited for," Matxin continues. "I think 29-30 minutes for the winner. I think around this margin [15-20 seconds between Remco and Pogačar] if all goes well, if there’s not any problem, it should be around there. But a good day and good sensations for Tadej, he could be closer; a really good day for Remco and it could be bigger for him."
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